Poul Thorsen was the key researcher in two controversial studies. The first claimed to show that there was no link between thimerosal (a mercury-based additive) in vaccines and autism. The second claimed to show that the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine had not caused autism. Both studies had been funded by the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) - some now suspect specifically to get those results. The way the studies had been conducted was strongly criticised by experts in the field at the time (Green Health Watch 27).

Now Aarhus University in Denmark, Poul's ex-employer, also doubts the validity of the studies. But then they are rather miffed that Poul appears to have used fake CDC documents to extract $2 million from university funds (ed. - presumably some of the funds paid by the CDC) and absconded to the US.